Mandi House-Central Secretariat line opens this week

Soon, Blue Line Metro commuters will no longer need to change a train at Rajiv Chowk to go to Violet Line as the new stretch from Mandi House to Central Secretariat will be opened for public by this weekend.

It will be the first stretch under the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation’s (DMRC’s) phase III project to be opened for public.

According to DMRC, Commissioner for Metro Rail Safety (CMRS) will inspect the stretch on Wednesday. “The CMRS has agreed to inspect the Mandi House to Central Secretariat Line tomorrow,” said DMRC spokesperson.

“The team will monitor the condition of the tracks and passenger safety measures. Also, the emergency exit plan and fire safety measures will be looked into during the inspection,” he added.

After the inspection is over, the corridor will be opened for public within a couple of days, he said. 

“The inspection will be over tomorrow (on Wednesday). The CMRS will then give the DMRC a safety certificate and immediately after that the section will be opened for public,” the spokesperson said.

The DMRC said that the expected ridership at the Mandi House station will be 70,000. The other station on the stretch is Janpath. 

Mandi House station is a part of the Central Secretariat-Kashmere Gate stretch under the DMRC phase 3 project. It is the first corridor, 9.25 km long, to be inaugurated.The civil work including the beautification of the station has been completed for over a month now. 

“The civil work at both the stations was completed long back,” the spokesperson said. The phase 3 under the Metro network is the longest so far, with eight lines covering 130.12 km. 

The current Metro network is around 190 km. Phase I has three lines covering 65 km and phase 2 has four lines with 124.6 km.